# Puff Monthly Tobacco Review: Petersen Irish Oak (July 2012)



## MontyTheMooch (May 27, 2012)

July isn't quite here yet, but I figured I would get out front and the thread started as I've already got my tin and have a couple of bowls down already, when you are ready post your reviews, thoughts, and comments here in this thread.

Here's mine:

I'm still refining both my palate and my overall smoking technique so I don't get quite as much from the typical flavor profile as most. 

My initial feel upon opening the tin was that this is going to smoke eerily similar to Davidoff's Scottish Mixture. I wasn't too far off the mark. Where Davidoff definitely has that "Scotch-like" finish to the smoke Irish Oak has a woodsy-oak feel to it. It's definitely what I would consider a light to medium tobacco. The tin wasn't too moist and I was able to smoke a full bowl from rim to dottle on a single light without an issue. 

I've smoked it now in both briar and meerschaum and found that in my meer it had a tendency towards gurgling about halfway through the bowl where my Don Carlos briar was smooth the entire way through without a hint of extra moisture. I didn't find any bite whatsoever and found it to be a MUCH cooler smoke than the Orlik Golden Slices that I recently finished off.

Overall, Irish Oak is a nice smoke and has a decent room note that won't drive others away, but if you lean towards heavier blends you may not be satisfied with this one.


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## ROTHNH (Jun 21, 2009)

MontyTheMooch said:


> ... Irish Oak has a woodsy-oak feel to it. It's definitely what I would consider a light to medium tobacco. The tin wasn't too moist and I was able to smoke a full bowl from rim to dottle on a single light without an issue.
> 
> I've smoked it now in both briar and meerschaum and found that in my meer it had a tendency towards gurgling about halfway through the bowl where my Don Carlos briar was smooth the entire way through without a hint of extra moisture. I didn't find any bite whatsoever and found it to be a MUCH cooler smoke than the Orlik Golden Slices that I recently finished off.
> 
> Overall, Irish Oak is a nice smoke and has a decent room note that won't drive others away, but if you lean towards heavier blends you may not be satisfied with this one.


Irish Oak is a different blend from Irish Flake. The former is a ribbon cut and the latter is a flake and, at least in my mind, each deliver a completely different experience.

I prefer Irish Flake. Did you mistakenly review the wrong tobacco?


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## MontyTheMooch (May 27, 2012)

WOOPS! That should have said Irish Oak. My bad! I reviewed Irish Oak, but mistakenly typed Flake. GAH!


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Ask Dave.73 if he can talk to Rich to get him to replace the name. Should be something as simple as "set threadname = '...Irish Oak...' where (select thread from threads where threadname = "...Irish Flake..." and forum = 'pipe.related.reviews' and threadname like "Irish Flake" and thread_date > '26jun2012') > 0;

Something like that anyhow, but I haven't done any sql in seven years now. One minute job, faster if you type fast. :lol:

Anyhow, nice review! A little confusing at first, but...:lol:


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## MontyTheMooch (May 27, 2012)

Title fixed. Thanks Dave!


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## gahdzila (Apr 29, 2010)

Thanks for starting off the review thread with a great review!

TAD has hit me pretty hard lately LOL. I am definitely going to order some Irish Oak to review, but I'm putting off making an order for a couple of weeks


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

MontyTheMooch said:


> Title fixed. Thanks Dave!


Almost. It's "Peterson".


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## Desertlifter (Feb 22, 2011)

What? What happened to the planet I'm on? Damn thing is spinning!

Irish Oak is described by tobaccoreviews as being medium to strong, and for some reason it reared up and said howdy for me. In and of itself it is a fairly even ribbon cut of medium brown. Slightly sweet to the nose, I get a bit of the burley nuttiness too.

Packed my bowl with a backdrop of what you see on a college campus in late June (it's a rough life), fired it up, and took a brain break from writing. The tobacco was what I am starting to see as decently hydrated out of the jar, and of indeterminate age - I got it in a trade. Or a buy - I can't remember.

Initial flavors were a very slight sweetness and nuttiness. The perique is forward with this one, particularly on the retrohale. I like VAPers, so this was not a bad thing. Speeding/slowing the smoke didn't show much in the way of change in flavor profile, and this stuff burned - at least for me - hotter than the blends I have been smoking. What really stood out was the ease of smoking Irish Oak. After my initial tamp and light I didn't have to touch up the bowl at all other than the occasional application of my tamper - it burned evenly and easily to the bottom of the bowl, where it left maybe 5 bits of unburned tobacco before extinguishing itself.

Upon which I noted that this was a stouter blend than I have been smoking. Bit of nic buzz? Yep. Bit of a gurgle in the stomach? Yep, although not enough to cause nausea. Smoking this on an empty stomach would be a very bad idea, IMO. Thirty minutes after the bowl things have settled a bit and I'm good to go. Next time I will probably pack half a bowl instead of filling my Bjarne. An apple shape might have been about perfect, or any other smaller bowl. A larger freehand might have had me meeting Buddha. The flavor profile was even and comprised mostly of the burley nuttiness and perique pepper - I noted very little VA in there to sweeten things.

Overall I liked Irish Oak, although I can think of better VAPers - Escudo in particular. I missed the sweetness of the VA that balances Escudo in Irish Oak. If I am working a graveyard shift however, this might be just the thing.

Just don't ask me to take a nap right after.


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## gahdzila (Apr 29, 2010)

I've been looking forward to this one. Cavendish, burley and perique aged in oak sherry barrels? Sounds different, unique and interesting!

In the tin, it's mixed colors, mostly light-medium brown with some darker and lighter flecks, fairly uniform ribbon cut. I detect a somewhat sweet fruity scent...maybe white grapes? My 9 year old son (resident expert tin note conniseur  ) says it smells "stinky, but with some berries in it" :lol: so the fruityness isn't just my imagination. My tin was packed tight and hard, almost a cake! The moisture level was ok for smoking right out of the tin, but it wouldn't hurt to leave it out to dry for a little while either.

It's an interesting smoke. I get that sweet slightly tart fruit flavor that I picked up in the tin note, but it's subtle. Perique is there....soft in the mouth, but obvious in the nose on retrohale. Not a really big perique like Bayou Morning Flake, but on par with or perhaps a slightly bigger dose than Escudo. Not super sweet, but I believe the cavendish is adding a bit more sweetness than the typical VaPer...or maybe it's the leftover sherry? It might be my imagination, but I think I detect a little oaky wood in the smoke as well. 

Nicotine level is a solid medium, maybe medium-strong. I'm finishing a fairly large bowl now (MM General) after a big meal, and am feeling a little fuzzy and relaxed. Enough to hold my interest most of the time, not enough to ever be overwhelming to me. Remember, though, that I'm a nicotine junky and I like the strong stuff, so YMMV. 

I just got my tin in yesterday and just started on it today. This is only my third bowl. I feel like I haven't given it enough of a chance yet to give a thorough review, but I wanted to go ahead and get these initial thoughts down. 

My initial impression is good but not great. It's a pleasant smoke, but seems a bit green and busy. Tobaccos seem to get better for me after opening the tin and sealing it in a jar for a week or so, and I feel like this will be the case here as well. I'll try to remember to report back later and see if anything changes. Though I'm not blown away, I'm tempted to buy another tin and hide it for 6 months to a year, as I feel like age might smooth it out and improve it some.


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## DanR (Nov 27, 2010)

My tin was purchased from my B&M last year, but it certainly had some age on it prior to my taking it from the shelf. I can tell because of the aged look of the tin, not from any date codes that I could find - the shop's price tag was put over the sticker on the tin, and I couldn't see what was hidden underneath no matter how carefully I tried to pull it away. Although, I am not sure Peterson puts a date on their tins anyway?

At first sight, the ribbon cut of this tobacco looks very pleasing to me. It's a cut that feels great when handling the tobacco and packs easily in the pipe. 

Perhaps because of the age, I do not pick up any fruit or liquor scents in the tin aroma. It's much more like a soft tobacco smell, plain and simple. There is a touch of mustiness in the aroma, which I assume is from the Perique.

The moisture level right from the tin is perfect. Mine doesn't need any drying time - straight to the pipe it goes. There are a few clumps of tobacco that have "melded" together in the tin to form bits of cake, and those seem to have a little more moisture than the other loose strands. When I break them up and mix the tobacco around, it all levels out.

I do think I am a little sensitive to Perique, and with this blend the black pepper spiciness that it lends (for me anyway) is right up front and dominant. I'd like to find some sweetness in the blend, but it's just not there. At the base of the smoke, I am getting more Burley type flavors, such as nutty and earthy, but puff after puff the Perique keeps coming through. Every now and then, when all the tobaccos combine just right, I get an interesting burst of a flavor that I can't put my finger on - maybe fresh cut cedar? Unfortunately, it doesn't last very long. 

The mouthfeel of the smoke is "dry", meaning that it makes me want to sip my drink more than smoke. It also burns a bit hot for me too, although it doesn't bite.

I am not a self proclaimed nicotine whore, like some people ^^ :lol:, but I can usually hold my own. In this one, I can actually feel it in my head and my stomach. It's not overwhelming, but it's certainly there. I ate a nice meal right before, so I can't contribute it to an empty stomach. For that reason, I'd say this is more on the medium-high scale of strength.

I personally think this blend would be better fresh, perhaps. I think the age on mine has reduced any cask aging flavors that are supposed to be there, or at least I can't discern them (unless that's the "interesting" flavor I get occasionally). I also think I'd like this better with less Perique. It's too much of a dominate flavor for my preference. I'll keep this jarred up and visit it from time to time, but probably won't rush out to stock the cellar with more anytime soon.


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## gahdzila (Apr 29, 2010)

DanR said:


> I am not a self proclaimed nicotine whore, *like some people ^^* :lol:


:behindsofa:

:lol: Great review, Dan!


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Despite the thinly veiled slight :spy:, I have to say it was highly entertaining, Dan! :smile:


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## gahdzila (Apr 29, 2010)

One week in the jar recap:

I don't have a whole lot of objective observation to report. I'm picking up more spicy pepperyness in the mouth (from the perique) than I was getting before, though it's still not huge. Also, I may have underestimated the nicotine punch...I'd call it stronger than medium, closer to medium-strong. Not a HUGE difference from my last assessment, but enough of a difference that I felt I should point it out. Subjectively, I'd say I like it better today than I did last week...I can't really put a finger on what I like better, other than just to say it seems to taste a little better (I attribute this to sitting in a jar for a week after popping the tin).

I like it! I'll be buying more to cellar!


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Working on my fourth Old Milwaukee, this should be a well-lubricated review of a tobacco I was not all that eager to try. Odd, since I really enjoy Irish Flake and University Flake, both. I've had quite a few bowls at this point, the tin substantially short of where it started, and I haven't jarred it yet so it is a bit drier than two weeks ago. Perfect moisture at this point, I think. Time to get the rest into glass.

It's done well in every pipe I've smoked it in, this time the Country Gentleman with a Forever stem. I've gravity filled then pushed in a firm musketball on top, and I seemed to have hit the sweet spot with the draw. I anticipate no problems, since the tobacco has burned well from the first pipe, and now a tad drier, it smolders like incense. A nice snork of perique, and something else...what was it? I had it identified some time back...probably something to do with the wine casks, but damn if I can remember.

A most interesting and complex smoke. So much of what I burn in the pipe is simple-minded: Kendal's Kentucky or Prince Albert, basic Virginias or VaPers. Even Royal Yacht, for all it's raisins and chocolate tastes, does not have this strangely intriguing departure from basic tobacco. Not that it doesn't taste like tobacco, mind you! So many blends with Cavendish are too sweet or mild or hot or wet. Here we have a tobacco that tastes very special and I would be hard pressed to say what's in it. (Not that that's saying much, considering my miserable Blind Taste Test credentials. :lol Unlike most Cavendish concoctions, though, it has a decent nicotine content as well.

As I tamp on down, the smoke seems quite consistent. I can still taste that background weirdness -- a few bowls back I said to myself, "Yeah, that's it!", but short term memory goes down the tubes when you're my age. <puff puff> Almost had it there for an instant. <snork snork> And the perique is still there, too! The nicotine is starting to pick up as well. :tu

For a ribbon, this is a remarkably nice burn; maybe it's the burley. A light little tamp and it's back on track, but I feel the end drawing near. An all around excellent tobacco, among the best I've smoked. I fully intend to load up on more. An unreserved four stars.


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## DanR (Nov 27, 2010)

Great review Jim! I also picked up a flavor that I couldn't pinpoint, which I described simply as "interesting". It was actually very good at certain points throughout the smoke, just not frequent enough to lend a higher rating in my book. If you pinpoint that flavor again, I'd really love to hear what you think it is. Maybe those Old Milwaukee's are messing you up! :lol:

I also want to know where Nick (Nachman) is? This is one of his favorites. I hope he's not sick again!


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## gahdzila (Apr 29, 2010)

I wanted to add a bit of an addendum to my review of Irish Oak. Nothing really much different to point out...except that by the time I finished the tin, I was really starting to like it a lot. On my next tobacco order, I ordered a tin. Just opened it and started smoking it today - WOW. This is one for the cellar, folks. Definitely gonna be a regular in my rotation from now on.


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## BigG (Aug 13, 2010)

Great to see so many great reviews of this fine pipe weed.
When I tried it a couple years ago, I immediately put some away - it'll be spectacular with some time in the cellar!
Glen


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## Dr. Plume (Sep 24, 2012)

Haven't tried this one yet!


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